Editing Earth Science 7- Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky
Contents
Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky, Russia
City Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky
State --
Country Russia
Latitude/Longitude 53°03'40.44"N/158°37'21.12"E
Elevation 516 feet above sea level (108 meters)
Major Bodies of Water Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk
Climate
Climate Zone
Dfd (Subarctic, severe, very cold winters, no dry seasons, cool summers) on Koppen Classification system
Cities with similar climates include Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Average Temperature and Rainfall
Highs and Lows in Celcius
January-High:-6.1, Low:-10.8
February-High:-5.4, Low:-10.5
March-High:-2.8, Low:-8.1
April-High:1, Low:-3.5
May-High:5.6, Low:0.6
June-High:10.6, Low:4.8
July-High:13.8, Low:8.5
August-High:15.1, Low:9.7
September-High:12.4, Low:6.6
October-High:7, Low:1.8
November-High:0, Low:-4.5
December-High:-3.9, Low:-8.4
Average Precipitation in mm
January 81mm
February 70mm
March 62mm
April 54mm
May 66mm
June 63mm
July 80mm
August 97mm
September 102mm
October 139mm
November 95mm
December 86mm
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky year average temperature is 1.4 °C, the year average high temperature is 3.9 °C, the year average low temperature is -1.2 °C, the average annual rainfall is 995.0 mm
Since Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located closer to the poles than the equator, it has dry and very cold weather almost all year round. The currents the flow to the sea around it are mainly cold and move in a clockwise direction, due to the currents coming from the poles and being located in the Northern Hemisphere. The dominant cold current is the Kamchatka Current, but the peninsula on which the city is located on may experience warming from the Kuroshio Current which flows from the equator, transporting warm water. It is also an area of somewhat constant low pressure, therefore the weather is not very good. Large rain and snowstorms form often. The topography is huge mountainous plateaus with a very high elevation, decreasing the climate temperature significantly. Also, the arrangement of lakes (some that may be frozen all year), along with the sea of Okhotsk, can increase the temperatures in winter and decrease the temperatures in summer, although the weather is extremely cold all year round. The vegetation is very scarce, and if any exists, in very small size. The intense cooling and freezing that happens overnight and throughout the day freezes the plants' liquids, leaving Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky with only the toughest of plants that can survive this weather; shrubs and small trees. The winds that can also change temperature on this part of Russia are the prevailing westerlies, that cool down the temperature significantly, as they blow upwards to the cold deserts and icecaps of the north pole.
Plate Tectonics and Rocks
Plates
Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky is located on the North American plate, very near to the convergent boundary of the Pacific plate in the northwest. This is one of the main reasons why there are mountains in the area. When the Pacific plate and the North American plate collide, they build up rock to form mountains by applying pressure, which sends the broken rocks and fragments upward.
Rocks
The rocks around the city are mostly igneous and metamorphic, because volcanoes exist and because the mountains in Russia form by plates colliding and piling up rocks. Therefore, the pressure (and sometimes heat) form the metamorphic rocks. The igneous rocks form when the volcano erupts and the magma cools, forming special types of rock. There are a few sedimentary rocks because of the Sea of Okhotsk. The sedimentary rocks form in the sea by getting compressed and cemented together, and then get deposited on land.
Sources
http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/%257eZenTech/English/Climate/Russia/Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.htm
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/sage/oceanography/lesson3/concepts.html
http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Petropavlovskkamchatsky
